


The Black Cardinal

by Rin Kirisawa (FlamingoFiend)



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Character Death, Childbirth, F/M, Implied Relationships, Major Original Character(s), Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-17 02:07:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 3,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14823164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlamingoFiend/pseuds/Rin%20Kirisawa
Summary: The black cardinal of SOILDER, such a beautiful specimen but so powerful as well. It's only a matter of time before her past comes back to haunt her though, what kind of hell will our black cardinal be put through and will she ever get out of it?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be posting every other day but if I miss a day, don't worry, I probably just don't have the chapter ready yet. Criticism is always welcomed.

The spider's spun web of lies held the mystic black cardinal hostage, yet she had stopped struggling long ago. The black cardinal had gotten herself entangled in the spider's web because of her own ignorance. However, she eventually stopped fighting against web, choosing instead to accept her fate. Yet when the deadly widow came to claim her next meal, the black cardinal saw her opportunity and-   
  "-And that's it, that's all of the Tale of The Black Cardinal I have. Supposedly it's the most complete version too..." Genesis said with a look of dissatisfaction at Angeal, who sat next to him.  
  "I can't make heads nor tails of the story, I need the complete tale to understand." Genesis continued, looking down at the open, purple book in his lap sadly.  
  "How surprising, you can't figure out the meaning behind a story for once." Came Angeal's response as he folded his arms across his chest, looking at his disappointed friend.  
  "Indeed my friend, indeed."


	2. Chapter 1

  A pale hand ran itself across the smooth slab of marble, almost caressing the stone. A soft sigh escaped from the woman's dry lips as her fingers ran along the engraving, tracing the letters slowly as they spelt the words out. Her greasy, brown hair blew in the strong winds that stung her dull blue eyes as they stared at the stone in front of her. Not a single tear was shed from those eyes however, as all the tears had been shed long ago.  
  "I miss you more everyday..." she whispered, letting a sigh escape from her mouth again before turning away from the tombstone. Walking slowly as her blue dress fluttered in the calming breeze, she returned back to the car. As the lady climbed into the vehicle, she gave the grave a fleeting glance before driving away from that place. She had already decided what her next course of action was before even arriving, and she had no intention of changing her mind.  
  Leaving behind the headstone, leaving behind her home, her town, and everything that was familiar to her. She drove and drove, only ever stopping for gas along the way to her destination. The only thing on this woman's mind was melancholy, an unbearable sorrow that haunted her in the mere background, as she had pushed it all to the very recesses of her inactive mind. Numb, numbness coursed through her body as she left everything behind, counting the miles that had passed.  
  The lady's mind was distracted by the lacking amount of thoughts she had, swerving every now and then to avoid colliding with another driver on the road. There was only one thing that she actually packed for the trip, everything else was unnecessary as the object resided in the trunk. Aside from that, all she had brought with her were the clothes on her back and the car, that didn't bother her however, she had what mattered most and wasn't planning on worrying about anything else. She turned her head with a small sniff, stifling the memories and emotions that were wanting to come back to her silently.  
  After having driven for an unknown amount of time to her, she arrived at her destination. When she stood from the car, she had to catch herself from falling due to exhaustion and hunger, not having eaten or slept during the drive. Looking down at her thin and weak body, she could only assume she had been driving for several days now. The woman didn't think much of it however, as she would soon have that taken care of at her place of arrival, the Shinra Electric Power Company.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry about the wait! Updating this just went completely over my head yesterday.

"I want to be in SOLDIER." Lazard blinked slowly at the woman, not sure what to say.  
  "What?" He asked her, secretly hoping he heard her request wrong.  
  "I said, I want to join SOLDIER." She repeated blankly, her expression unchanging and not a hint of faltering in her voice.  
  "A... woman? In SOLDIER?"  
  "Yes, it's where I want to be." Lazard nodded slowly, turning away from the woman in his chair. There was nothing stating a female couldn't join, but there never has been a woman that wanted to join either. After a moment's thought, Lazard turned back to her with a small smile.  
  "I'll work my magic and make it happen." He said cheerfully, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the desk. The nameless woman only nodded in response, causing her still damp hair to fall around her stotic face.  
  "I'll give you a call when you've been approved  or Sephiroth really, since you dont seem to have a phone, Ms..." Lazard paused as he glanced over at her application, making note of her name. "Ms. Summers..."  
  "Thank you sir, and please, just call me Marie." She replied, taking her leave from Lazard's office and turning the corner to where Sephiroth stood in silence.  
  "Summers, huh?" Lazard muttered, furrowing his brows slightly at the name, knowing all too well what that name meant.  
  "Well?" Sephiroth asked Marie as he pushed away from the wall, wanting to know what the director had to say.  
  "He said that he'll work his magic and call you later." She looked at Sephiroth from her peripheral vision, a slight frown on her features.  
  "Is something the matter?" He asked her in a concerned way, turning her to fully face him and slipping a hand under her chin.  
  "It's nothing Seph, not anymore at least." She sighed, pulling away from the man who towered over her and walking off. Sephiroth watched Marie leave before looking over at Genesis and Angeal approaching him from the distance.  
  "Who was that, Seph? Did you finally get a girlfriend?" Genesis glanced at the direction Marie went with a frown of his own.  
  "She's just a good friend, and why do you look miserable? Everyone I've talked to today is like that." Sephiroth scowled, not liking when people were upset. Genesis opened his mouth to say something but was cut off quickly by Angeal.  
  "He's disappointed by a story in his book because a part of it is missing." He explained while leaning against the wall opposite to the silver haired man.  
  "So? You've pretty much completed LOVELESS despite it missing the final act." Sephiroth said to the redhead next to him, receiving a grunt in reply. Angeal shrugged and kicked off from the wall, stretching some.  
  "We we're thinking about getting dinner, if you wanna join us, Seph." The strongly built male said, waiting for a response.  
  "Sure, sounds like fun." Sephiroth ghosted a smile as his stomach growled lightly.


	4. Chapter 3

  "Alright, thank you director, I'll inform her when she wakes up." Sephiroth promptly hung up afterward he said that, rubbing his forehead in a futile attempt to get rid of his on coming headache.  
  "Mmm, mornin'." A still tired sounding voice spoke from his hallway. Turning his head, Sephiroth looked over at Marie, noting her disheveled, brown locks that sat at the top of her hunched over shoulders.  
  "Good morning, Marie." He greeted back, watching her lug herself over and plop down on the couch, earning a squeak from the couch due to the sudden addition of weight now on it.  
  "Lazard called, he managed to set up a placement exam for you tomorrow." Sephiroth told the burnette sitting next to him.  
  "Took him an entire damn week, huh?" She replied sourly.  
  "Be grateful Shinra even considered you." Marie narrowed her eyes at his statement.  
  "And I suppose the only reason for THAT was because of my husband?" She growled angrily.  
  "I'm just saying, Marie. But yes, I do not have a doubt in my mind." Sephiroth explained coolly as Marie turned her head with an irritated expression.  
  "Well, no matter anyway. I've reached the halfway point and there's no point in getting upset over why they decided to try me out." She said while staring blankly at the floor, rising from her seat on the couch and heading out of Sephiroth's apartment.  
  "Don't forget, Marie, once you join SOLDIER, it's almost impossible to get out." He warned her just before she closed the door, leaving him in the silence within his home. Wincing from his headache, he rubbed his forehead again before giving up with a small groan. It didn't take him long to remember a particular item in his house.  
  Sephiroth sighed as he reluctantly stood from his sofa, glancing over at the scythe propped against the wall. He walked over to it slowly, taking in all the details of the chipped and splintered wood that made up the handle of it. He allowed his eyes to slowly climb the six foot scythe, up until they reached the partially rusted and broken blade. Following the remaining curved blade, Sephiroth's cheeks felt a bit of wetness.  
  He made a curious face as he reached his gloved hand up to his face, pulling it away and examining it. After a few moments, it dawned on him as his vision started to become blurred. Tears streamed down his face as he let out a strangled sob, clutching his chest as he shut his eyes tightly.  
  Sephiroth regained his composure after a few moments, turning away from the scythe quickly, shunning it, hating it. He headed out to work with a heavy heart, not wanting to have been reminded of that night.  
  "Fuck you, Marie..."


	5. Chapter 5

  Genesis swore under his breath as he sat next to Lazard in the observation booth. Lazard had called him so that Genesis could help him in determining where the potential recruit should be placed within the Shinra military. Genesis wasn't too happy about being called though, complaining that he was too busy.  
  "What sort of madness are you wanting to throw at me now, Lazard?" He growled as he looked out the window at the woman.  
  "I would advise you to watch your tounge, Commander Rhapsodos. Unless you wish to experience house arrest for the next week." Lazard smiled in a false sweetness, knowing all too well how the red head begged to return to work last time he was put under house arrest.  
  Genesis cleared his throat "What did you call me here today, sir?" He asked the blonde relaxing back in the chair comfortably.  
  "That woman, Marie Summers, is wanting to join SOILDER and I need your help in determining where to stick her." He explained with a hinted frown.  
  "Summers? As in THAT Summers?" Genesis questioned Lazard with a shocked look. He nodded in response, causing the other man to pale.  
  "You can't be serious, Lazard!" The startled first-class exclaimed, bewildered as to how the director was even allowing this.  
  "Mr. Rhapsodos, please, just help me with this simple task. We are supposed to look at this without bias." Lazard looked over at the frazzled man with a serious look.  
  "As cruel as this may sound, we have to pretend he never existed." He continued, waiting for Genesis' reply. Said man gave it a moment's thought before nodding in a reluctant way.  
  "Good," The blonde said, looking back out of the observation window "commence."  
  As soon as Lazard had said that, the simulation activated around Marie, she looked around cautiously before a behemoth dropped down in front of her, roaring loudly at her. The beast lunged forward, forcing Marie to quickly move to the side. With a yell of her own, she charged it, landing a decent blow before drawing back. This only served to agitate the behemoth further, as it blew fire towards the burnette.  
  "She's fairing surprisingly well, considering her rudimentary training at least." Lazard commented as he leaned forward, intrigued by the woman. Genesis nodded as the monster knocked her back, Marie staggered slightly.  
  She raced forward, swinging the sword she was provided high over her head. Just as she was about to land the strike, the behemoth struck her with its claw, sending her flying and slamming her into the wall. Genesis and Lazard winced in unison as they continued to watch Marie get slammed into the wall several times before they finally shut off the simulation.  
  "Are you okay?" Lazard asked her as he stepped out of the observation booth, racing over to her. Genesis followed suite after him, checking her over for any injuries as the simulations tend to leave some damage on a person.  
  "I'm fine, where do you think I'm suited?" Marie brushed the men off of her while holding the back of her head, not caring about any injuries. All she cared about at that moment was wether she had gotten into SOLDIER or not.  
  "Well, that will have to be discussed. You go and rest up at home." The bespectacled male said, noticing the small scowl forming on Genesis' lips. Marie nodded and left the simulation room, leaving the men to discuss.  
  "I think she would be well suited for SOILDER, however I'll leave the class for you to decide, Commander." Lazard spoke.  
  "I don't agree with you putting her in SOILDER, but if you insist, put her in-"


	6. Chapter 5

  Marie pulled at the turtleneck collar, not sure what to think of her new uniform. She stared at the mirror and flinched, revolted by the color it was.  
  "Could they have chosen another color other than pink?" She moaned to Angeal who was behind the door of her bedroom.  
  "One, it's magenta, two, apparently not." The sturdy man replied, looking around the apartment, boxes were scattered around on the floor, some full, some empty.  
  The burnette came out and struck a dramatic pose for the group and sighed loudly. Zack let out a small snicker while Angeal and Sephiroth smiled, Genesis scowled however, paying more of his attention to the desk in the corner.  
  "So, you're this Marie I keep hearing about?" Zack asked her cheerfully.  
  "Yeah, you must be the "puppy" Angeal was talking about earlier." She said in a dull tone while looking at the energetic boy with sharp eyes. Zack drew away with a small squeak upon seeing her expression.  
  "Marie, give the kid a break." Sephiroth spoke up, earning a glare from Marie and a hopeful look from the youngster.  
  "Anyway, welcome to SOLDIER." Angeal shook the woman's hand, smiling warmly at her. Everyone followed after him, shaking the new second-class' hand. Genesis held back however, his scowl increasing every second.  
  "What's the matter, Gen?" Sephiroth placed a concerned hand on the red head's shoulder, catching the attention of everyone else.   
  "I refuse to welcome her into SOLDIER, I'll work along side her, but she has no welcome from me." He said bitterly, having a glaring contest with Marie. Zack shrunk away against the wall, while the other two men gave their friend a shocked look.   
  "Genesis... what has gotten into you?" Angeal asked, slightly appalled by glaring man's behavior. Genesis brushed Sephiroth's hand off his shoulder and left suddenly, providing his answer with the slam of a door. A suffocating silence surrounded everyone in the room as tension could be felt. After a few moments, Zack pulled away from the wall and looked around nervously before breaking the silence.  
  "S-so, um, what was that about?" Everyone stared at Zack, still keeping silent.  
  "Ummmmm, anyone for dinner?" He flinched, backing away from all the staring eyes.  
  "My treat?" Zack gave up and just hid near the walls again, blending in partially with the shadows. Slowly everyone left the room, one by one. First Angeal, then Sephiroth,  and finally Zack, all until it was just Marie. She let out another sigh and trotted back to her room, dropping herself down onto the pile of blankets that were strewn all over the bed, hoping to just get some well needed sleep.


	7. Chapter 6

  Sephiroth gazed off into the distance, distracted by his friend's odd behaviour. It was like as if Genesis no longer existed and someone else filled his place. After the event in Marie's apartment, he had locked himself away in his own and refuses to talk to anyone. Not even Angeal has been able to get through to him. Sephiroth thought about breaking the door down a few times, which gave him a slight chuckle before returning to being silent while zoned out. There was a voice talking to the silver haired man, however he didn't pay it mind until the speaker grabbed his arm, jolting him out of his mind and back into reality.  
  "Sir? Are you alright?" A concerned looking third-class asked him, to which he gave a nod. Looking around a bit, Sephiroth slowly remembered what he was doing in the first place. 'That's right, I'm training the thirds Lazard assigned me.' He thought to himself. His cell phone starting ringing, as he pulled it out of his pocket, he took note of the caller while stepping out.  
  "Genesis." Sephiroth answered, suprised at the phone call.  
  "Meet me at Loveless avenue at 9pm tonight." The mentioned man spoke gruffly before immediately hanging up, leaving his friend to wonder what was going on. The black clad male lingered for a few moments before pocketing his phone and stepping back inside the training room.  
  Angeal paced around his home quarters, concerned for his childhood friend's well-being as he had never seen Genesis act like this before. Zack was sprawled out on the older male's couch, watching him back and forth.  
  "What was the phone call about? He asked his mentor curiously.  
  "Don't worry about it, Zack." The man responded, taking a moment to pause and look at younger before resuming his pacing.  
  "You're gonna wear a trench in the floor you know." Angeal stopped and plopped down next to his protege, causing Zack to quickly pull his legs closer to his body.  
  "It was about Genesis, or at least, from him." The young teen perked his ears upon hearing this new information.  
  "What did he say?"  
  "Just to meet him somewhere." Angeal detailed vaguely, knowing that if he told the intrested teen there was the possibility him of wanting to tag along, something Genesis warned the larger male against doing. Zack nodded and didn't pry any further, choosing instead to grab the book resting on the armrest and reading it again.  
  "I haven't seen you read anything in a long time." Angeal commented, looking over at the teen.  
  "I read sometimes." The younger replied back lazily with a yawn.  
  "Well, I'm going to crash Zack, night." The older got up, stifling a yawn of his own and clambered to bed.  
  "Night, Angeal."


	8. Chapter 7

  "What did you bring us here for, Genesis?" Angeal inquired, gazing around the darkened street, the only light to be seen was from the street lights and the moon overhead. Sephiroth stared at the said man, noting the tightly clutched paper in his hand, curiosity overwhelming the light haired man.  
  "It's about Marie... and her husband." Genesis said in monotone voice, which was unusual for the red head.   
  "For fuck's sake, Genesis! Give it a rest, the man is dead!" Angeal threw his hands in the air out of frustration of his friend's recent obsession with the man.  
  "Relax, Angeal. Let him explain, it might be something else." Sephiroth placed a hand on the older male's shoulder.  
  With a sigh, the dark haired man gave a nod. "Go ahead."  
  "What I was going to say is, maybe Marie isn't here just out of grief or a desire to avenge her husband..." Genesis glanced between the two men, receiving the confirmation to go on.  
  "I think she might actually be here because of this." He continued, holding out the partially torn paper for the other two men to see and read. Sephiroth took the page from his friend's hand, reading the note aloud.  
  "I never asked for much of Matt, just that he allowed me to fulfill me dreams. Naturally, he let me, but there was always one that he would talk me out of, working alongside him. Whenever the topic came up, we would always argue about it, so I just stopped trying. He would always say that the Shinra military was not for women, and I would always say that I was no ordinary woman. With Matt gone though and nothing holding me down in Kalm, I am working towards achieving that dream." Sephiroth raised a brow once he finished reading the journal entry, suprised by what he just read.  
  "She's here because it was the one dream her husband never allowed?" Angeal asked in a dumbfounded way.  
  "Looks to be true." Genesis spoke, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.  
  "I originally thought it was some kind of plan, one that would continue what Summer's was doing before his death..." The red head explained further. The other two men nodded, not needing any further information on what happened at the housewarming.  
  "But what about all that time you spent locked away at your place?" Sephiroth inquired, still confused about that part.  
  "I was searching into Commander Summer's records, as well as Marie's." The male answered, straightening his up again.  
  "From your apartment?" Angeal interjected, knowing full well that kind of access was not easily accessible.  
  "Hacking, quite the handy skill sometimes." Genesis smirked, before starting to take his leave, waving over his shoulder lazily at his friends.  
  "Well then..." the dark haired man muttered, before joining the red head on his route home.  
  "You coming, Seph?" Angeal called over his shoulder, looking back to his friend.  
  "No, there's something I need to do out here." He replied with a shake of his head, turning and walking the other direction.


	9. What was I thinking?

What the hell was I thinking when I was writing all this? I don't even really know what the hell I'm doing anymore. Look, I'll keep writing every so often but I'm not going to bother publishing anymore unless y'all want to see more of this.


End file.
